It's Our Time (Carolina Rebels 3)

I’m relieved when I see Ian walk through the door because it means I can get away from these crazy people. He looks really good wearing a suit, but now isn’t the time to think about that. He smiles when he sees me, which is a good sign.

“Hey, have fun?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Hey, whose kid is this?”

My heart stops as I see a blond-haired, blue-eyed man holding my daughter. I grab Ian’s arm. My fingertips dig into his arm so hard that if he still bruises easily, there will be a bruise there later. No one seems to be panicking, but I am! I don’t know who that is! Why is he holding my daughter? My entire body is tense next to Ian, who thankfully does something since I can’t seem to do anything.

“Give my kid back, Marco.” He sounds relaxed, which is a good sign, but the room has fallen silent as they realize what he said.

“Do I have to?” Marc asks as he hands her to Ian. “She said I was pretty.” Marc is the last one to catch on. “Wait, she’s yours, Bruiser?” He glances between Savannah and Ian.

I burst out laughing. “They still call you that?”

Ian cuts me a look. “Don’t say another word.” So, they must not know how he got it then. “That’s what I said, Marc. Come on, Sydney. There’s someone I want you guys to meet real quick.”

As I’m following him out of the room, I hear Sylvia say, “Oh, this totally just got way more interesting. Did y’all know he had a daughter?”

“Ignore them,” Ian says. “A bunch of nosy people is all.” There’s a man standing outside of the room, dressed similarly to Ian. “This is Zane. He’s a teammate and a good friend. Z, this is Sydney and Savannah.”

“Hey, Zane!” Savannah says first.

I give him a small wave as he fist-bumps Savannah. We start walking.

“How was it in there?” Zane asks Ian.

“A madhouse.” Ian looks over at me. “How was it for you? I forgot that Sylvia would be nosy.”

I shrug. “I’d rather not do it again.”

He frowns, but doesn’t say anything else.

“I’m the sane one,” Zane says. “Most of the guys are pretty cool, but you have to watch out for some of them and their women. Sylvia is nosy and unless Scotty is around, she’s hard to contain. Most of the rest that you would hang with are cool, though.”

“I noticed.”

“How does it feel to be a dad?” he asks Ian.

“I’ll let you know when I feel like one.”

“Seem to be doing okay so far.”

On our short walk out of the building and to my car, Savannah falls asleep on Ian’s shoulder. It’s past her bedtime.

Ian shrugs at his comment. “All I did was carry her outside. I’ll catch up with you later. You seeing Deanna tonight?”

Zane shakes his head. “She said she had other things to do. Nice to meet you, Sydney.”

“You too.”

“How bad was it with Sylvia?” Ian asks.

“Awkward at first, but no one talked to me for the most part.”

“Really?” He seems surprised, but doesn’t see my nod since he’s loading Savannah into her car seat. She wakes up and smiles at him.

“Hey, show Daddy what we do when the Rebels score and that horn goes off.”